Chapter Four
Caleb
I wasn’t thinking, just reaching for something good.
Warm, sweet lips opened beneath mine, and a soft little body melted against me. My hands moved, gliding over her hips, surprised by the flare of them. I liked the feel of her. The taste. The feathery, floaty whimper she made as our tongues touched.
Everything about her hit me sideways. Kissing this woman was like biting into the first ripe peach of the season—not expecting much but ending up standing still for a second, taking it in.
She tilted her head, kissing me deeper, and something about the way she clutched at the front of my shirt made my mind go blank. White noise. The world had narrowed to this one bright, unexpected moment where Alice had her mouth on mine.
Then she pulled back.
And I stood there like a damn fence post, blinking at her.
Alice.
Alice had kissed me.
I’d never noticed the exact shade of Alice’s eyes. They were the color of the cottonwoods down by the south fence line. Lively and bright, and when the wind hit just right, they shimmered. The kind of green that meant life was holding on.
I stared at her, probably looking like I’d taken a shovel to the head. She’d stunned me. This woman, who’d been nothing but polite in all the years she’d waited on me, had planted her lips on mine without warning. For no reason I could think of.
And I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
But I couldn’t say I minded. Not even a little bit.
She was flushed, eyes shining, chest rising with shallow little breaths. “Will you go on a date with me?” she asked. “One. Just to see.”
A date?
I wasn’t the dating kind. Didn’t see the point. Never had the time, and sure as hell didn’t have the energy to sit across from someone, pretending I was better company than I was.
But Alice wasn’t just someone, and I didn’t think she’d expect me to be anything other than myself.
And really, what was the harm in taking her out for a meal? One night. One dinner. I could do that much.
“Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “Okay. One.”
The smile that spread along her kiss-bitten lips was brighter than sunshine. I felt it all the way to my gut. I wasn’t sure what she thought she saw in me, but the feel of her lips on mine had made me curious enough to want to find out.
Things looked different in the cold light of day—when last night’s kiss had faded, and I was walking through the Grocery Barn, looking at flowers, feeling out of my depth.
The only women I bought flowers for were my mom, grandmother and on occasion, my sisters.
Scanning the small selection for a bouquet for Alice, I stopped and rubbed my jaw.
Alice what? Hell, I didn’t know her last name and I was in the midst of trying to decide if she’d prefer daisies or carnations. What had I gotten myself into?
“She’ll like anything you bring her.”
I turned my head, lifting a brow. Joy had sidled up beside me without me noticing. “Who?”
She narrowed her eyes, leveling me with an assessing look.
Joy wasn’t a big woman, but life hadn’t been easy on her.
All the years she’d had to get by with nothing but vim and vigor were worn right on her face.
If she wanted to cut a man down, all she had to do was glare and he’d feel it in his bones.
I knew this through experience. When I was eighteen, I’d tried to use a fake ID to buy beer at her bar. She hadn’t said a word to me. All she’d done was look, and look hard, and I’d walked myself right out, not going back once until I was twenty-two.
“Don’t play coy with me, Caleb Kelly. I know exactly who you’re looking to buy flowers for. I have to say, I approve.” She reached for a bouquet of mixed flowers. “Alice likes color. She’ll appreciate these.”
I took the bouquet, trusting she knew what she was talking about. “Thanks.”
She wagged a finger at me. “I don’t think I have to tell you to treat her right.
She’s the sweetest woman I know, but she went through some serious shit before she got to town.
Going out with you…” Her chest rose as she took a deep breath.
“Yeah, going out with you’ll do her some good. It’s been a long time coming.”
A long time coming? What the hell did that mean? She’d only asked me for this date last night.
“You don’t have to worry about me treating her right, Joy.” I waved the flowers. “Thanks for the help with these.”
I’d said the words without thinking, and they echoed in my head after I walked away.Treat her right. Of course I would. That wasn’t where my doubts came in.
Truth was, I didn’t know much about dating. Or Alice. But something told me if I screwed this up, it’d stick with me, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.
Once I was clear of the grocery store, I had time and questions, so I stopped by Sugar Rush to check in on my sister, Phoebe.
Her café was all pink and sugar, just like her. She was behind the counter, smiling at her customers, spreading her special brand of sweetness around like confetti.
If she didn’t have the Kelly eyes and my mother’s face, I’d have suspected she’d been switched at birth.
Our parents were good, solid people, but Phoebe was like a fairy, sprinkling pixie dust everywhere she went.
She was the best of all of us, and my siblings and I were extra protective of her.
In the last couple years, since Deke had come into the picture, we’d eased up, but that was because he’d lay down his life for her without a moment’s hesitation.
When she was free, she rounded the bakery case to throw her arms around me. “Hey, you.”
I gave her a squeeze. “Hey, Phe-Phe. How’s your day been?”
She took a step back, nodding toward her nearly empty case. “Busy, as you can tell. It flew by, though, so that’s always good.” She smiled at me. “How about you? What’s up?”
“Does Alice come in here? You know Alice, the waitress at Joy’s.”
A tinkling laugh burst out of her. “I know who Alice is, Cay. She comes in once or twice a week.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, uncomfortable with this entire situation. “What’s she usually get?”
“You want to bring her something?”
I went with the easiest explanation—the one that didn’t involve me mentioning our one-and-done date.
“Mmhmm. Some idiot gave her a hard time at the bar last night, and she ended up cutting her hand. Thought I’d take her a treat to cheer her up.”
Pink rose on Phoebe’s cheeks as she pressed her lips together. It was a strange expression I couldn’t decipher. Almost like she was about to burst.
“Okay,” she squeaked. “That’s so nice of you. I’ll box up some of her favorites.”
She rushed behind the counter, pulled out a large pink box, and set about filling it to the brim. Alice wasn’t a big woman, and while her appetite might’ve been healthy, I couldn’t see her eating all this before it went stale. But my sister was determined, so I wasn’t going to stand in her way.
I leaned my elbow on the top of the case. “What’s Alice’s last name?”
Phoebe’s head shot up, and she sent me a puzzled look. “You don’t know?”
“Wouldn’t have asked if I did.”
“It’s Clark.” She slapped the lid of the box closed. “Sometimes you amaze me, Cay. You help run one of the largest ranches in the state, but I’m not sure you see what’s right in front of your face.”
“Should I have known Alice’s last name?”
She shoved the box at me. “Yes. It’s not like this town is big, and she—” She shook her head. “Just be nice to her, all right?”
Straightening, I tucked the box under my arm, wariness stirring in my gut. It couldn’t be good this was the second warning I was getting about treating this woman right. I didn’t have any kind of reputation for doing women dirty, so I wondered if it had more to do with Alice than me.
“Is there a reason you think I wouldn’t?”
She patted my chest. “I know you’re a good man. That’s not in question. Like I said, it’s taken you all this time to notice her, while she—” Phoebe cut herself off again, biting down hard on her lip.
“She what? Fill me in so I don’t screw this up.”
After a beat, she sighed, tucking her hands in the pockets of her frilly apron. “I don’t know anything for sure, but I think she’s been into you for ages. And if you’re just noticing now, well…”
“Into me?” That couldn’t be right. Sure, there’d been the kiss, but Alice and I had barely exchanged words.
Phoebe poked the spot she’d just patted. “See? That’s what I mean. Everyone knows, but it’s brand-new information to you. At least you finally opened your eyes. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
I shook my head. “Nothing to get happy about. Like I said, I thought I’d be nice and take her something sweet after a crappy night. Don’t read into it.”
She nodded, trying to control her flighty smile. “Sure, Cay. I’m not reading into anything. Have fun and tell her I say hey, all right?”
After leaving Sugar Rush, I sat in my truck with the box of treats and a bouquet of flowers, wondering what the hell I was doing. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t this guy.
So…why was I doing it?
That kiss…
In those minutes after she’d kissed me, I would have agreed to a hell of a lot. I remembered exactly what her lips had felt like, but now that I was clearheaded, agreeing to tonight was looking like it’d been a really unwise decision.
Everyone knows.
Phoebe had said that. Joy too, in her own way.
Like Alice had been waiting for tonight longer than I could wrap my head around. She’d asked for one date, but what if that wasn’t all she wanted?
This wasn’t feeling simple.
No.
I wasn’t equipped for this. I hadn’t been in a long time. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like the right thing—the fair thing—would be to back out before anything else happened.
I stared at the flowers, the pink box, my hands gripping the steering wheel too tight…
Hurting Alice was the last thing I wanted. I had to figure out what to say to let her down easy.
It was the right move, but I was dreading every second of it.